


Comfort

by Pixelatrix



Series: Unconventional Sequels, One-Shots and Alternate Chapters [10]
Category: Mass Effect
Genre: Angst, Feels, Hurt/Comfort, Miscarriage, Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-10-29
Updated: 2013-10-29
Packaged: 2017-12-30 20:58:02
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,421
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1023305
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pixelatrix/pseuds/Pixelatrix
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A slightly angsty one-shot for Unconventional.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Comfort

**Author's Note:**

> Mentions of the loss of a pregnancy in very early stages, no graphic mentions.
> 
> Bioware owns all sadly.
> 
> Beta: CelticGrace

“Sweetheart.”

“No.” Fin stood with her hands on her hips.  Her green eyes flashed angrily. “You are going to spend the rest of the weekend  teaching _your_ daughter the importance of gun care and safety.  You _will_ drill into her that guns _are not_ toys.  And while you’re at it, drill into yourself that if she’d grabbed a loaded gun, you’d be missing either your daughter or your wife.”

“Fin.” Zaeed tried to get a word in.  He’d been trying for the last fifteen minutes.

“I don’t care that the gun was empty.  I don’t care that you make sure that _all_ the weapons in the house are not only empty but kept separate from the clips.  You created the problem; you are now in charge of fixing it.  I also don’t care that technically this was _our_ date weekend.  You screwed that up without my help, Zaeed.” Fin shook the paintbrush in her hand at him. “And while you are spending time with Rowan.  I’m going to take Steven with me instead.  I’m sure he’ll appreciate the treat that I had planned.  And I’m sure he’ll _enjoy_ the multiple hours of naked time in bed. You _aren’t_ invited.”

“Sweetheart.”

Zaeed sighed in aggravation as Fin stormed out of the living room.  He watched her until she’d disappeared down the hallway.  He could hear her muttering and slamming things around in the bedroom.  _Goddamn it._ He shoved his hands into his pocket and headed into the garden to find six year old Rowan sitting on one of the stone benches near the roses.

“Are you grounded too?” Rowan leaned against him when he sat down.  He lifted her up into his arms.

“I think so,” Zaeed grumbled.

“Sorry, daddy.”

“It’s not your fault, Sweetheart.” Zaeed scratched his head trying to decide how to accurately explain to his little girl why waving the gun around had been a bad idea.  “You have to understand that your mom…has lost a lot of.  There’s…”

A pair of confused green eyes glanced up at him.  He should’ve dragged Hackett out with him.  He always seemed to do better than Zaeed did when explaining things to Rowan.

“Your parents all love you very much and we’ve seen a lot of goddamn…shit,” Zaeed groaned. “Don’t tell your mother that I said that.”

He grinned down at her when she giggled.  He decided perhaps the best way to explain to the little six year old was to start by explaining the difference between her toy guns and _his_ real ones.  Fin had been right when she said the realistic one that he’d got her had been a mistake.  That’s what had started the whole mess in the first place.

Rowan had accidentally grabbed his pistol, and not her toy one.  He never kept loaded weapons in the house but the sight of her daughter waving a real gun around.   Fin hadn’t taken it very well.  She’d damn near punched Zaeed once Hackett had taken the mini-Fin outside.

He spent the next two days with Rowan going over everything that he knew about guns.  He showed her how to clean them, the importance of storing them carefully.  He also drilled into her that the weapon should _never_ be pointed at someone _ever._

He chose to ignore her confused question about why he pointed the gun at bad guys then.   Maybe he shouldn’t have told her any of the stories about his time on the _Normandy_.  He enjoyed the time with Rowan; it wasn’t often that they had a few days to themselves. 

The trouble was that Zaeed couldn’t get the look on Fin’s face out of his mind.  It didn’t help that he was essentially sleeping alone.  He had too much time to think about what he knew had gone through her mind.  He’d tried to vid-chat with Fin to apologize but she’d been ignoring him.

His husband had answered his hail just to tell him that they were both fine and having a good time.  He seemed to take great pleasure in rubbing that point in.  _Goddamn bastard._  He’d then shut down the connection before Zaeed could ask to speak to _their_ wife.

The anger and annoyance that he felt had faded by Monday when Fin was still not speaking to him.  She’d come back home and gone straight to the guest room.  Hackett just shrugged and wandered over to where Rowan was watching a movie in the living room.

The two men sat on either side of her and watched the movie.  Zaeed didn’t really pay attention.  He lifted Rowan up into his lap and she leaned back against his chest.  She was holding Fin’s koi plushie in her hands.  

He watched her play with it absently as she laughed at something that happened on the screen.  He’d been thinking about Fin’s reaction and he couldn’t put his finger on why it was still bothering him.  After a moment, he lifted Rowan up to set her in Hackett’s lap and made his way down the hall.

Stepping into the guest room, Zaeed frowned when he caught the telltale sound of Fin trying to smother crying.  He made his way across the room to sit on the edge of the bed.  He wasn’t sure how welcome his touch would be at the moment so he sat and waited.

“I lost the baby.”

“What?” Zaeed reached over to turn on the lamp by the bed so he could see her. “What baby?”

“I…” Fin sat up with her back to the headboard.  Her face was hidden by a curtain of tangled red curls. “I planned to tell you about it this weekend.  It was why I wanted it to be the two of us.  I’m...I was two months…I had a paternity test so…”

“Oh Sweetheart.” Zaeed dragged her over until she was in his arms.  He wrapped her tightly in them.  “Why didn’t you tell us?”

“I wasn’t ready to talk about it.  The doctor doesn’t think it’s wise to try again, she thinks it would be too much of a risk for me...and the…I just wanted to give you…” Fin couldn’t seem to finish her sentence and she buried her face in his neck.  “I’m sorry.”

“You? You don’t have a goddamn thing to be sorry about.” Zaeed pulled his arm up so he could reach his omni-tool.  He sent a quick message to _their_ husband to let him know that it might be wise to find an _emergency_ babysitter for Rowan.  

It was an hour before he heard voices in the living room.  Fin hadn’t moved from his arms.  He recognized the lilt of Chakwas’ voice.  It was a few more minutes before Hackett walked into the room to join them.  He sat on the bed beside Zaeed and reached out to rest a hand on Fin’s lower back.

“Finnegan?” He exchanged a concerned look with Zaeed. “What’s wrong?”

“I can’t…” She shook her head and pressed closer to Zaeed.

“She _was_ pregnant.” He finally decided that he was going to have to answer for her.

“Was?” Hackett caught on to the emphasis that Zaeed had put into that one little word.  He frowned at Zaeed before turning back to Fin. “Was…did stress…”

“No. No.” She finally twisted her head to look at him.  Hackett lifted his hand to brush the tears from her cheek with his fingers. “The doc thinks that my body just couldn’t handle it.”

I’m so sorry, Finnegan. So very sorry.” Hackett leaned closer to kiss her gently on the lips. “We love you.  Why didn’t you tell us?”

“It was real if I told you,” Fin shrugged.

Zaeed pulled her down on the bed so that Hackett could stretch out on her other side.  They shifted closer until she was firmly sandwiched between the two of them.  He now understood why Fin had reacted so strongly to what had happened.

“I am so _fucking_ sorry, Sweetheart.” He pressed his lips against her forehead as he spoke. “So bloody sorry.”

“I wanted to give you…” Fin buried her face against his neck again.  He could feel her tears against his skin.

He exchanged another look with Hackett as they shifted even closer to her. “You’ve given both us of more than we could ever want and a hell of a lot more than we fucking deserve. Especially Steven, the goddamn bastard.”

Fin chuckled a little when Hackett smacked Zaeed on the arm. “I love you…both.”

 


End file.
